Concept-Focused Teaching: Using Big Ideas to Guide Instruction in Science

Olson, Joanne K.

Science and Children, v46 n4 p45-49 Dec 2008

One of the main problems we face in science teaching is that students are learning isolated facts and missing central concepts. For instance, consider what you know about life cycles. Chances are that you remember something about butterflies and stages, such as egg, larva, pupa, adult. But what's the take-home idea that we should have learned about life cycles? Do students really need to know "egg, larva, pupa, adult?" An important way to address this is to remain focused on the central concept--i.e., the big ideas--rather than topic-focused teaching.